Minnesota Twins Ready to Send Key Starting Pitcher Out on Rehab Assignment

As the Minnesota Twins push for the American League Central title this year, they are closer to getting back starting pitcher Joe Ryan, who is out on a rehab start on Friday night. Manager Rocco Baldelli said there is no set timetable for his return, and they will know more in the next day or two.

Updated 6:10 p.m. ET

The Minnesota Twins are getting closer to bringing back starting pitcher Joe Ryan to the rotation. 

The following update comes from the Rotowire fantasy baseball portal:

Ryan (groin) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul on Friday, Darren Wolfson of Channel 5 Saint Paul reports.

ANALYSIS
Ryan tossed a bullpen session Tuesday and came out of it with no concerns, clearing the way for his return to game action. It's not clear how long a rehab stint he will need before being activated, but since he's been out for only about two weeks it's not likely to be a long one. He could rejoin the Twins' rotation next week in Milwaukee or back at home versus the Rangers.

Fastball on FanNation publisher Tom Brew is in Minneapolis for Friday night's game with the Twins and Pittsburgh Pirates, and had a chance to talk to Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli about Ryan's start in St. Paul against Indianapolis on Friday — and the yet-to-be-determined timeline for his return to the big leagues.

"I'm not really thinking anything at this moment (about a timeline) because we want to see how he feels, how he throws the ball, how everything goes,'' Baldelli said. "You know how we handle these things, so there's no need to make any sort of statements here (before he pitches). We'll see how he pitches. I hope he pitches well and it goes smoothly and then it's easier for us to make those kind of decisions easier for us.

"I think it's important, and he knows how important it is to focus on this rehab start and take it to heart and throw thee ball as if it was his first start back here.'' 

Whenever Ryan comes back, this will be a big boost to the Twins rotation as they try to hold off the Cleveland Guardians in the division. Entering play on Friday, the Twins are 4.5 games ahead of the Guardians.

There are only 40 games to go — including six against Cleveland — so there is a sense of urgency in getting Ryan back. But Baldelli made it clear that they will be cautious with Ryan's groin injury.

"You might treat some of these things differently based on the time of the year, but we're pretty consistent about how we handle muscle injuries,'' Baldelli said. "I don't think that will change, regardless of the calendar.''

The 27-year-old Ryan is 9-8 this season with a 4.43 ERA. He's struck out 152 batters in 126.0 innings. He was having an excellent year, but he's allowed 23 runs in his last five starts, and has only gone six innings one time in that span.

The Twins are 63-59 and will take on the Pittsburgh Pirates for a series beginning on Friday. First pitch from Target Field is set for 8:10 p.m. ET as Pittsburgh's Andre Jackson starts against Minnesota's Pablo Lopez.

Jackson is 0-0 with a 5.47 ERA while Lopez is 8-6 with a 3.66 ERA.

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